With Chukwu disrupting Greenwich's rhythm on both ends of the floor, the top-seeded Jesuits pulled away for a 59-41 victory in the LL state semifinals before 2,012 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.

Chukwu scored only 10 points, but he was an even bigger factor on defense. He recorded 11 rebounds, four blocks and affected nearly every Cardinals drive into the paint.

"He's a great player," said Cardinals guard CJ Byrd, who scored 12 points. "If anything, if he wasn't blocking shots, he was altering shots."

Three other players scored in double figures as Prep (27-0) advanced to its third LL final in the last four years. The state's last remaining unbeaten will face No. 2 Central (26-1) on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

Greenwich led 13-12 after a bucket by Byrd, but Prep quickly turned the game in its favor. A 3-pointer by Dave Zielinski -- one of four in the first half for the Jesuits -- sparked a 14-4 run into halftime. The Cardinals didn't have nearly enough offense to keep up, especially with Chukwu's unrelenting presence.

"Having me in the middle stops them from doing whatever they want to do. ... You have to force them to take outside shots," the Jesuits center said.

Wolf, Greenwich's 6-9 center, finished with nine points, six rebounds and one block. He produced four of those points early -- giving the Cardinals a one-point lead to open the second quarter -- but the Jesuits never allowed the FCIAC runner-up to settle into a rhythm offensively. The Cardinals committed 20 turnovers.

"You focus so much on (Chukwu) that it takes you out of your game," Greenwich coach Bill Brehm said.

Greenwich got as close as six points in the second half on a 3-pointer by Tommy Povinelli to start the third, but Prep outscored the Cardinals 13-4 over the rest of the quarter. The Jesuits led by as many as 21 in the second half.

"Our goal was to stop CJ and not let him have a big night," Prep coach Leo Redgate said. "He's a very good athlete, is a great player and will continue to be a great player. We just didn't want to have one or two guys beat us."

The Jesuits didn't allow that to happen. Now they're one win away from their first state title since 1997.

Fairfield Prep lost the 2013 final to Hillhouse, 52-42, in their fourth meeting of the season.

In 2011, the Jesuits lost to St. Joseph of Trumbull by 79-53. And in 2012, Prep lost to Hillhouse in the semiinal round by 60-47.

Prep won its first-ever SCC title earlier this month by defeating Hillhouse.